HIST301: Greece, the Roman Republic, and the Roman Empire

Unit 1: Bronze Age Civilization in Greece (c. 3000–1100 BCE)Complex, agricultural societies emerged in mainland Greece and the
coastlands and islands of the Aegean Sea during the Early Bronze Age
(beginning approximately 3000 BCE). The cultures of the region
eventually developed written languages, monumental architecture, and
distinct styles of artistic expression. Extensive trade networks linked
the peoples of the region. On the island of Crete, the Minoan
civilization built labyrinthine palaces and exerted considerable
political and economic influence over this area. Around 1600 BCE, Minoan
civilization collapsed due, probably, to an invasion by mainland Greek
peoples collectively known as Mycenaean, who incorporated Minoan culture
and technology into their society and flourished until the collapse of
their civilization at the close of the Bronze Age. In this unit, you
will examine the development of these Aegean civilizations during the
Bronze Age. You will also look at Bronze Age art and architecture and
discuss how archaeologists and historians have used this art and
architecture to learn more about the peoples of Greece and the Aegean
region.

Unit 1 Time Advisory
Completing this unit should take you approximately: 18.5 hours

☐ Subunit 1.1: 5.25 hours

☐ Subunit 1.2: 8.25 hours

☐ Introduction: 0.5 hours

☐ Subunit 1.2.1: 1.5 hours

☐ Subunit 1.2.2: 1 hour

☐ Subunit 1.2.3: 1.5 hours

☐ Subunit 1.2.4: 0.5 hours

☐ Subunit 1.2.5: 0.75 hours

☐ Subunit 1.2.6: 1 hour

☐ Subunit 1.2.7: 1.5 hours

☐ Subunit 1.3: 5 hours

Unit1 Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- identify the cultural origins of ancient Greek civilization in the
Aegean Bronze Age;
- describe the relationship between the geographical features (i.e.,
mountains, islands, etc.) of Greece and developments of Greek
culture in the Aegean Bronze Age; and
- assess the political, social, and cultural achievements of the
Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations.

Instructions: Read this article, which discusses the mystery of the
first Greek settlers, how their descendants tried to fill in the
gaps of their ancestry, and how 20th-century research has
guided our understanding of the first Greeks.

Reading this material and taking notes should take approximately 15
minutes.

Instructions: Read this article about early Greece. Pay special
attention to the description of the sources for the Greek Bronze Age
(c. 3000–1100 BCE). There are several important issues to note
during this period, such as how the early kingdoms developed through
trade and the extent to which trading altered the kingdom’s
military, linguistic, and religious composition.

Reading this material and taking notes should take approximately 15
minutes.

1.1.1 Early Bronze Age Greece
- Reading: The Saylor Foundation’s “The Emergence of Complex
Societies in the Aegean Bronze Age”

Link: The Saylor Foundation’s [“The Emergence of Complex Societies
in the Aegean Bronze
Age”](https://resources.saylor.org/wwwresources/archived/site/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Saylor.orgs-The-Emergence-of-Complex-Societies-in-the-Aegean-Bronze-Age.pdf)
Instructions: Read this article about the development of complex
cultures in the Aegean in the Early Bronze Age (c. 3000–2000 BCE).
Reading this material and taking notes should take approximately 30
minutes.

Instructions: Read this article concerning the end of the Early
Bronze Age (c. 2400–2000 BCE), which witnessed, according to the
archaeological record, tremendous cultural change. Some historians
maintain that this period witnessed the arrival of Indo-European
people into Greece, perhaps even speaking an early form of the Greek
language.

Reading this material and taking notes should take approximately 30
minutes.

Instructions: Read this article about the history of the Minoan
world. The Minoan world was centered on the Mediterranean island of
Crete, which was one of the most important mercantile civilizations
of the Bronze Age.

Reading this material and taking notes should take approximately 30
minutes.

Instructions: Read these two articles, which discuss the culture of
the Early Minoan Period (c. 3000–2000 BCE) on Crete.
Reading this material and taking notes should take approximately 1
hour and 30 minutes.
Terms of Use: This resource is licensed under a [Creative Commons
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported
License](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/). It is
attributed to Jeremy B. Rutter, JoAnn Gonzalez-Major, and Dartmouth
College, and the original version can be found
[here](http://www.dartmouth.edu/~prehistory/aegean/).

Instructions: Read this article about Minoan art. As you will find,
the palaces and other architectural accomplishments of Minoan
civilization were also the site of great wall paintings, or
frescoes, from which archaeologists have learned much about Minoan
society, culture, and religious practices – a subject that is
treated more fully in the next subunit. Some aspects of Minoan art
indicate the influence of neighboring cultures, an outcome that may
not come as a great surprise given the trading relationships that
the Minoans developed with the surrounding world.

Reading this material and taking notes should take approximately 15
minutes.

Instructions: Read this article, which describes how historians and
archaeologists have attempted to interpret the figures and rituals
displayed in Minoan art and crafts. As you will find, researchers
remain divided over the exact beliefs possibly conveyed by these
artifacts.

Reading this material and taking notes should take approximately 1
hour.

Instructions: Read this article, which provides an introduction to
the theories that link the collapse of Minoan civilization to the
massive Santorini volcanic eruption and the destruction of the
Minoan town on the Aegean island of Thera.

Reading this material and taking notes should take approximately 30
minutes.

Link: The Saylor Foundation’s [“Mycenaean Civilization: The Culture
of Bronze Age
Greece”](https://resources.saylor.org/wwwresources/archived/site/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/HIST301-1.3-MycenaeanCiv-FINAL.pdf) (PDF)
Instructions: Read this article about Mycenaean civilization. As
you will find, our geographical focus will shift from Crete back to
the Greek mainland. The subunits that follow will provide more
detailed descriptions of what historians and archaeologists have
learned about Mycenaean social and cultural life as well as their
contacts with neighboring peoples. Note that this reading also
covers subunits 1.3.1–1.3.3.
Reading this material and taking notes should take approximately 15
minutes.

1.3.1 Mycenaean Settlement Patterns and Centers of Power

Note: This subunit is also covered by the reading assigned in Subunit
1.3.

Instructions: Read this article, which discusses the discovery and
decipherment of the Linear B tablets and what these tablets tell us
about the political, social, and economic organization of Mycenaean
society.

Reading this material and taking notes should take approximately 30
minutes.

Instructions: Read these two articles concerning Mycenaean religion
and the site of Troy in the late Bronze Age. Historians today debate
how much the oral traditions represented in the epic. Homeric poems
the Iliad and the Odyssey (see subunit 2.3) preserve a record of
the events and culture of Mycenaean Greece.

Reading this material and taking notes should take approximately 1
hour and 30 minutes.

Instructions: Spend a few minutes reflecting on these two questions
about the articles you just read:

Did the Iliad record an actual Bronze Age war between Mycenaean
states and the Anatolian city-state of Troy? How similar were the
religious beliefs of the Mycenaean and later classical Greeks?

Now, share your thoughts on the discussion forum by clicking the
link above and creating a (free) account, if you have not already
done so. Also, take some time to read the responses other students
have shared and leave any comments you have on their feedback.

Sharing your thoughts on the discussion forum should take
approximately 30 minutes.